400 Years in the Making
by Dark Waffle
Summary: Spoilers for chapter 465. How could he look any of them in the eye knowing he was the cause of their pain and anguish? How could anything ever be the same again?


**A/N: I couldn't help myself after reading the newest chapter so I had to write out what I think the aftermath of the confession would be like** **This has HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 465 SO IF YOU HAVE NOT READ TO THAT POINT, YOU WILL BE SPOILED.**

 **Thank you and enjoy the newest one-shot**

"Speech"  
 _"Dreams/Flashbacks"  
'Thoughts'_

 _ **400 Years in the Making**_

He was utterly exhausted.

His body was broken, his heart heavy, and his soul feeling utterly disheartened. Zeref's confession was weighing heavily on his mind as the information he just learned was reeling in his mind over and over. Denial. He was in absolute denial. It wasn't true. It _couldn't_ be true.

" _You're our friend, Natsu. You're our friend!_ " Happy was chanting above him as the small, blue exceed carried him back to the guild.

Natsu could only hang his head in utter confusion and shock.

Zeref Dragneel? The almighty God of death was his _brother_?

He was dead and brought _back_ to life as E.N.D?

He, along with Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue, were over _400_ years old?

He was the reason for Lucy's mom's _death_?

He would _die_ if Zeref died as well?

Oh God.

How in the world was he supposed to explain that to the guild? How was he supposed to go back and tell them all that he learned? How was he going to be able to look Erza in the eye knowing that he was the reason for her childhood slavery for the R system? How was he going to tell Gray that he was the reason for Deliora destroying his village and killing his parents? And the worst of them… how was he supposed to face Lucy, his _best friend_ , knowing that he was responsible for her mother's death and caused her such a lonely childhood?

How could _anything_ ever be the same after this?

"Natsu, there's the guild!" Happy cried out to him.

The pink haired boy looked up to the place he called home and immediately began to panic.

He couldn't do it. No, he couldn't go back.

But as the guild's view came at large and the gates became visible, he knew there was no turning back now. This was going to happen.

Happy set him down and he collapsed to one knee as soon as his feet hit the ground.

"Natsu!" Happy rushed to his side with tears in his eyes. The fire dragon slayer could see the burned paws of his blue haired companion and guilt immediately rose from the pit of his stomach.

"I'm okay… just tired." He said meekly, with short breaths as he clutched the open wound in his stomach that Zeref has inflicted.

"Just wait here! Let me get Wendy!" But before Happy could fly off, Natsu grabbed his tail, jerking the blue exceed back.

"Natsu…?" There was immediate concern in Happy's voice.

"Happy… please don't say anything." The blue cat went wide eyed for a brief moment, but his sullen look of understanding made Natsu breathe easily with relief. "I- I just…"

Happy put a paw to his hand and gave him a sad smile of understanding. "You're my friend, Natsu."

Returning a small smile of appreciation, he rubbed the top of his exceeds head. Not even a second later, Natsu could feel a burning sensation in the pit of abdomen and began to cough up blood.

"Natsu!" Grabbing his best friend, Happy hauled the both of them through the front doors of the guild.

Immediately, Happy saw the remaining members of the guild look at them in edge with their magic being stimulated. When he locked eyes with the familiar brown that he had come to know so well, he began to cry.

"Lucy! Natsu needs help!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Lucy ran towards Natsu with clear determination, her brown eyes filled with immediate worry and concern.

"Dammit." Lucy muttered under her breathe as she looked over Natsu's wounds. The remaining members of Fairy Tail crowded around them, obviously worried for their resident dragon slayer.

"Where's Wendy?" Happy asked, searching for her in the building but the blue haired girl was nowhere to be found.

"She's not here." Lucy said as she called for Macao and Wakaba to bring her antibiotics, bandages, and hydro peroxide.

Happy looked horrified as all the color drained from his face. "Bu-but Natsu!"

"Warren! Notify Wendy and tell her to come back immediately!" Lucy shouted to the man with telepathic magic.

"Y-yes!" He responded and Lucy went right back to helping Natsu.

"Natsu, look at me." Lucy called out to him as she lightly grabbed his cheek, taking a look at the horrific laceration on his cheek. With half lidded eyes, Natsu looked at Lucy's brown eyes in a daze. She was looking at him with those pretty brown eyes of hers that he had come to care for so much.

"This is going to hurt, but it's what we got until Wendy gets here, okay?" Her voice was calm, but he could make out the certain edge in her voice.

"Lu-Lushi." He called out in a groan and he could hear her faintly say to him to save his breath.

But as he did that, there was a faint burning on his cheek and immediately he gritted his teeth, hissing in pain.

"I know, Natsu. I know." Lucy's words were slightly comforting, but that didn't stop the pain from subduing.

"Lucy! Wendy is on her way with Charle!" Natsu could hear Warren shout before darkness began to envelop him.

"Good. Tell them to hurry because this won't relieve his pain until Wendy gets here."

The last thing he heard before he succumbed to the overwhelming amount of pain was Lucy's soft whispers of " _It's going to be alright, Natsu. I got you._ "

Once Natsu collapsed from pain, Lucy ordered for the boys to carry him to the infirmary with the rest of the resting members of the guild, including Ichiya. Wendy arrived shortly after and immediately went in to heal Natsu.

She released a shaky breath and could feel the tears in her eyes as she dropped the strong façade she had put up. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. There was so much going on and there was so little she could do to help.

She was stuck here in the guild instead of holding helping the rest of her friends and wizard world fight off Zeref and his underlings. She was stuck here _babysitting._

All her training and development was equivalent to a babysitting job? _Dammit no!_ She was stronger than that! She should be out there with her friends, helping them fight for their lives! If she was out there, maybe she could have prevented Natsu from running off on her own and then maybe he wouldn't have come back with one foot in the grave!

"Ugh!" She shouted in frustration as she pounded on the lone wall in the hallway leading back to the main hall.

"Stupid, useless, pathetic!" She muttered to herself as the tears fell from her eyes. If only she wasn't so damn powerless!

"Lucy?" Called blonde froze at the calling of her name. Rapidly rubbing away the tears in her eyes, she put on a strong front and turned to the voice calling out for her.

But the young Celestial mage was taken aback as the founder and First Master of Fairy Tail was standing in front of her.

"First!" Immediately composing herself, she vanquished any trace of emotion from her sullen demeanor and moved to one of more confidence.

Mavis Vermillion smiled candidly at the young blonde and floated past her to look through the crack of the door, watching Wendy work to heal the young boy in the bed.

"You know, I once met a Celestial mage who harbored very strong magic just like yourself." Lucy blushed at the compliment graced to her by the founder of the guild.

"Oh wow, First. I don't know what to say- Thank you. That… means a lot." Lucy sputtered.

Mavis smiled and looked up towards the roof of the building as if she was lost in a memory.

"She was as strong in her celestial magic as she was in her heart. She was such a wonderful person with an overwhelming amount of kindness in her heart. She didn't hesitate to help a helpless girl with no family, no friends, and nowhere to go." Mavis giggled slightly, making Lucy arch a brow. "You know, she reminds me an awful lot like you."

Lucy blushed again.

"What happened to her?" Lucy inquired, itching to know more of the past. There wasn't much written down about the power of the celestial keys and this was an opportunity to learn more.

"We went our separate ways. Once I was healthy enough to travel on my own again, we departed, continuing our journeys separately." Lucy's face fell as Mavis finished her story. What a sad story, she thought to herself.

"Lucy…" The blonde quirked up to the calling of her name and locked eyes with the bright ghost emerald eyes of the first master of Fairy Tail. "Please do not see yourself as pathetic or weak. You are a mage of Fairy Tail. This is your home and we must all do that we can to protect it. There is great magic in you. It's only a matter of time before that all comes to use. I know it's difficult, watching your friends go out there, putting their lives in danger. But, sometimes our roles play to the bigger part of the story."

Biting down on her lip, Lucy tried to stop the quivering and nodded. "Now child, let's go check on Natsu yes? I'm sure he'd be happy to see you when he woke up."

Nodding her head, Lucy turned to enter the room with Mavis following right behind her. The blonde's insecurities hadn't completely vanished, but they had certainly settled with the words of the first. She inhaled deeply and walked in, feeling more confident than before.

Mavis watched the child fin front of her and smiled sadly to herself.

" _Oh Anna. You would be so proud. She is everything you hoped she would be."_

 _ **-O-**_

There was a faint smell of an aesthetic as he shifted in his sleep. There was a dull, aching pain in the abdomen area of his body and a throbbing headache. When he tried to move, it hurt.

"Oww." He muttered as his eyes fluttered open.

"Natsu?"

At the mention of his name, he turned slowly to see Lucy Heartfilia sitting next to him in concern. Her big, brown eyes stared deeply into his. He could see the frantic worry that was washing over her eyes and the concerned demeanor etched on her pale face.

"Hey." He said in a rasp voice, giving her that goofy grin of his.

One look at his grin and there were tears forming at the rims of Lucy's eyes. She smiled at him as she rubbed away the tears.

"You idiot. You had us all worried." He laughed, a grim reminder that there was a hole in his stomach. He flinched slightly as the cackling died down.

"I'm okay, you weirdo." She smiled so candidly and sincerely at him that it was a crushing reminder of what had only occurred hours, possibly days ago, depending on how long he was asleep for.

"Wait! The attack! Zeref! The army!" He jumped from his seat and suddenly felt very dizzy. Lucy jumped from her chair and put a hand to his back and chest as he clutched his stomach tightly.

"Natsu! Calm down!" The blonde scolded as she helped him lay back against the bed.

" _Lucy…_ _ **what happened with Zeref?**_ " His tone was dangerous, almost feral as the fight with Zeref and the undeniable truth came out.

For a moment, the blonde was taken about by his tone of voice. But, she quickly regained her calm composure and answered his questions.

"After Wendy returned and came to help you, all fronts of the battle had prepared themselves for battle with the rest of Zeref's army only for them to fall back."

Natsu blinked in pure confusion. "Fall back?"

Lucy nodded, continuing with "Yes. All the troops began to fall back and retreated. Every member of the Spirigain 12 fell back. Even Brandish managed to get away somehow."

Sitting in pure shock, Natsu's jaw fell with a loss of words. Why didn't Zeref continue on with the attack? Why didn't he destroy the world like he claimed he would? What possessed Zeref to withhold the demise of the wizard world?

"He's still alive, isn't he?" Lucy asked quietly, slight fear in the edge of her voice.

Somberly, Natsu nodded, clenching his hands with the material of the blanket.

He was beginning to feel sick, a bile feeling in the pit of his stomach. He refused to believe what Zeref had told him. He refused. It wasn't true. He was _human_.

But, in the back of his mind, he knew. He knew that what the God of death had confessed was true. There was no words of manipulation, no means of trickery, no lying.

He was E.N.D.

He was the bringer of destruction. He was the monster that had hurt his friends and had caused them nothing but pain and anguish. It was a crushing force of gravity that hauled his heart crashing to the earth. All this time, all they had suffered, all they had experienced, all they had suffered was because of him.

"I'm going to go get Wendy. You wait here and don't do anything stupid, okay?" Lucy said to him, but he hardly acknowledged her. Now that these thoughts were plaguing his mind, he couldn't even bring himself to look at her.

How could he?

 _He was a monster_.

And a monster like him should not be around others. He would cause them nothing but death and destruction. He had to leave. Leave and relieve them of the possibility of him inflicting pain on them.

Natsu hated himself for it; hated what the resolution had to come too. Having to leave Fairy Tail, his friends, Happy, _Lucy._ God, she was going to hate him, wasn't she?

' _Better to hate him for running away than finding out he was a demon that killed her mom.'_

Making up his mind rather quickly, he rapidly jumped out of bed, looking for a fresh set of clothes. Grabbing the nearest pile, he found a dark cloak and some baggy trousers that would do the trick. Changing quickly, Natsu grabbed the duffle bag in the corner of the room and stuffed it with medical supplies. Money wouldn't be an issue as he would scurry his way quickly to his old house and pull what he had in his savings box.

With his excelled hearing, the pink haired dragon slayer could hear faint footsteps from down the hall. That was his que to leave. With a heavy heart, Natsu jumped towards the window and opened it. Before climbing out, he took one, longing look at the room he was leaving behind, the people he was leaving behind.

And with one jump, Natsu Dragneel was gone.

 _ **-O-**_

" _That_ _ **IDIOT!**_ _"_ Lucy shouted in anger, frustration, and absolute indignation.

How could he? How could he do this? How could he do this to her _again!?_

" _That stupid, selfish, self-absorbed, IDIOT!_ " She yelled again as she kicked a tree, cracking it in half.

She was absolutely _vivid._

How could Natsu just leave and disappear without a trace? How could he leave her behind once more? How could he _abandon her?!_

 _Was she just not good enough for him?_

"AGH!" She threw a solid punch to the ground, the earth shattering beneath her.

She could feel the power of the bull slipping as Taurus' magic was fading away. Sweat was running down her face and she collapsed, falling face first into the dirt under her.

"Why? Why did you leave, Natsu?" She whispered to herself as tears cascaded down her muddy cheeks.

"Lucy?" Even at the sound of her name, Lucy made no movement. She was too tired, to drained to move.

"Lushi… please don't cry." The blonde could hear Happy's shaky voice as he flew down next to her.

"He's our friend, Lucy. We have to keep believing in Natsu. We just have too." He said behind teary eyes.

The celestial mage exhaled deeply and pushed herself off the ground. She looked over at the blue haired cat that had been Natsu's companion nearly his entire life.

For Natsu to even leave Happy behind, there had to be a reasonable explanation for his disappearance.

"I know, Happy. I know." She reached out her arms to him and cradled him in her arms as he clutched tightly to her chest.

Lucy sat brokenhearted, longing for the secrets that Natsu held while Happy cried in chest, a secret so heavily kept, it was tearing him apart.

It was only a matter of time before fate would twist them together again.

 **A/N: Hello there! Happy belated Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays! What a way to start the season of joy with nothing but angst, eh? I was inspired with the latest chapter that I had to write out what began formulating in my head.**

 **This is kind of my "what happens next." While I don't believe that Natsu will run away and disappear again, I thought it would be fun to play with that idea. Also, I played around with the idea that Mavis had met Anna sometime before she died and knew that Lucy would be one of her descendants down the road. Don't mind me. They are just theories.**

 **Anyway! This is just a short break from finals,** _ **Fallen Star,**_ **and life in general. I'm actually working on the last two chapters of** _ **Fallen Star**_ **, which is why I have taken so long to update. It's going to be somewhat of a double treat for you all! So keep an eye out for that coming soon!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed! Reviews, comments, criticism, and questions are all welcomed! (:**

 **Until next time!  
\- Dark Waffle**


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